Basenoter Worst Nightmare

The secretary at my work is actually allergic to most scents (including deodorants, shampoos, etc) and can get hospitalized if its bad enough. She can smell a perfume or cologne a mile away. Luckily I'm not often in the office, but when I am I have to be very mindful. How would you guys try to avoid getting cologne on your clothes? Currently it seems the cologne gets mostly on my undershirt and not my dress shirt. Was wondering if anyone had any other tricks

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Are you asking how to wear cologne on those days, or how to avoid having cologne on your clothes when you come in otherwise unscented? And does she react to clothing that once had fragrance on it but has since been washed? I ask because I'm puzzled about the problem being the undershirt, which is easy to wash. I'd think that the problem would be more things like wool sweaters and jackets, things that you don't wash every time you wear them.

If it were me, I'd have at least one full set of completely washable clothes, including a sweater, and I'd store them where I never store clothes that have perfume on them. I'm not quite sure what I'd do about my coat - I wouldn't want to buy a whole separate fragrance-free coat, but maybe I could leave it in the car or in some controlled area in the office. There'd probably be a little fragrance contamination of my clothes, but maybe not too much.

As for how the secretary survives, I'm assuming that she does have to deal with occasional outsiders coming in wearing fragrance, and that therefore the regular employees need to minimize their fragrance use to minimize her exposure. I actually think that's a fairly reasonable demand.

Edited to add: If I worked in that office every day, then I would buy a coat for fragrance-free occasions. My livelihood is important, her livelihood is important, it's worth buying a coat to avoid endangering either one. My issue would be with buying a whole coat for a rare visit to the office; under those circumstances I'd try to find another solution.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

1. Call ahead and have her leave the area when you are there.
2. Ask her to please take an antihistamine the days you are scheduled to be there (have her see an allergist). It is not fair for her to control everyone else's personal choices (that's why we have non-smoking laws).
3. Make sure she has an epi-pen on hand in case her reaction is severe. Tell her you will always be wearing cologne when you are there. Work with her to find a solution where she can protect herself and you can *be* yourself.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Originally Posted by dogodojo

1. Call ahead and have her leave the area when you are there.
2. Ask her to please take an antihistamine the days you are scheduled to be there (have her see an allergist). It is not fair for her to control everyone else's personal choices (that's why we have non-smoking laws).
3. Make sure she has an epi-pen on hand in case her reaction is severe. Tell her you will always be wearing cologne when you are there. Work with her to find a solution where she can protect herself and you can *be* yourself.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Originally Posted by dogodojo

1. Call ahead and have her leave the area when you are there.
2. Ask her to please take an antihistamine the days you are scheduled to be there (have her see an allergist). It is not fair for her to control everyone else's personal choices (that's why we have non-smoking laws).
3. Make sure she has an epi-pen on hand in case her reaction is severe. Tell her you will always be wearing cologne when you are there. Work with her to find a solution where she can protect herself and you can *be* yourself.

I'm sorry, but I can't tell if this post is intended to be sarcastic (sometimes sarcasm is lost in these forums). If it is, the sarcasm is a bit too subtle for me.

If it isn't, then I have to disagree with this completely. This is not a situation where two personal choices are colliding; the o.p. indicated she has an objective medical condition that caused severe reactions to scents. Considering that he's only in the office rarely, it seems to me that it's a matter of decency not to wear cologne the days he knows he and she will be there. It's really a small matter for me not to wear cologne for a day or two, and if a coworker had this condition I think it's, at the very least, a question of courtesy.

One other thought: if she is actually that allergic, she is likely protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is more expansive than most people realize (assuming this occurred in the United States). If the o.p. has a management position, and refuses to accommodate her request, he'd better consult his company's attorney because he is setting them up for a possible lawsuit.

But again, if it was me, I just would avoid cologne on the few days I will be near her. No big deal for me.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Yes - serious, not sarcastic. Just responding to what seemed to be real sadness and frustration on the part of the poster. And since, as he said, he is not there that much, it seems a small matter to ask her to go to a different room when he's there. Of course, he could choose not to wear the fragrance, as you said. But it seemed he did not want to do that. If she moved out of the area when he was there, it would be consideration on both parts, don't you think?

If the job required no fragrance in the workplace (as some do) then he would have to comply. But, if not ... I don't know that this would be considered a disability. In my workplace, I actually saved the life of a co-worker once, who was having a huge allergy attack because of something that was never discovered. I got her a Benedryl immediately and when the paramedics arrived they said had she not taken it when she did, she might have died.

But, she came right back to work and this workplace did nothing to accommodate her. Her attack could have been from flowers, or chemicals, or something just in the air. Perhaps it was even to a perfume some customer was wearing! No accommodations have been made for her and it is her responsibility to medicate herself in the way her doctor recommends, or to find another job.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Can somebody really get hospitalized by being near somebody that is wearing fragrance? I've known people to get migraines if they are sensitive, but not anaphylactic shock! So I will assume it is okay to wear as long as she is not rubbing her body on you. Call me pessimistic, but she might just be saying she is allergic because she finds strong fragrance offensive. When I was a waitor I heard all sorts of people say they were allergic to things when they just didn't like it and wanted to make sure it wasn't on their plate. I've overheard plenty of people admit they weren't really allergic; the best was someone saying they were allergic to pesto. I asked what in pesto they were allergic to and they didn't answer.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Originally Posted by Nosebud

Can somebody really get hospitalized by being near somebody that is wearing fragrance? I've known people to get migraines if they are sensitive, but not anaphylactic shock! So I will assume it is okay to wear as long as she is not rubbing her body on you. Call me pessimistic, but she might just be saying she is allergic because she finds strong fragrance offensive. When I was a waitor I heard all sorts of people say they were allergic to things when they just didn't like it and wanted to make sure it wasn't on their plate. I've overheard plenty of people admit they weren't really allergic; the best was someone saying they were allergic to pesto. I asked what in pesto they were allergic to and they didn't answer.

Yes they can. It's rare, but I know someone who will go into anaphylactic shock if he's exposed to anything scented, plus a few other extremely common airborne substances (If I recall correctly it's petrochemicals.) He rarely leaves the house, and when he does, he wears a respirator.

It does happen. If that were the case though, I'd be avoiding any job that involves interfacing with the public. I assume the secretary can handle SOME exposure or she would be unable to function at all in society. Still, some people drench themselves in so much strong-smelling perfume/cologne that you can smell them from several feet away (I really only notice this when it's something that irritates me- I think the record was Axe body spray that could be smelt from ACROSS THE STREET.)

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Since youre not there that often I would agree that you should just refrain from wearing any fragrance that day, nobody want a lawsuit right? However it sounds like she is exaggerating the effects that other peoples fragrance can have on her. Im working on a masters degree in molecular toxicology and have taken several classes in immunology and similar topics and with all the IFRA regulations on what goes into a scent I highly doubt she could be hospitalized from someone else wearing a perfume. Almost always an allergic reaction requires direct contact with the allergen via skin contact, injection, or ingestion, and the amount of fragrance that diffuses off your body while you are in the office would be to minuscule to trigger anything. Maybe if you went and sprayed her in the face with a frag she could have a reaction, but it just doesnt make any sense that she could be hospitalized from you wearing one yourself. And does that also mean you cant wear deodorant or use soap in the shower before you come to work? Does she have documentation of this severe allergy problem from a doctor? Im not calling her a liar, and in biology there are always special cases which circumvent general knowledge, but this just sounds a little extreme to me.

PS an all natural fragrance would be more likely to cause a reaction than a synthetic one since someone suggested that above.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

That is hypersensitive. She should be in a bubble lol. I think its great you are mindful but then again, you have to be yourself. Its okay to groom in a way that satisfies you but on those days, a comprise by toning it down a notch is all anyone could ask for. In a healthcare setting, I'm not supposed to wear anything scented as it may upset sick patients. Do I? Of course; I'm a member of basenotes damn it lol. However, to work I usually wear something low key and inoffensive which in my opinion makes anything in my wardrobe fair game

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

I knew a girl that claimed that she was deathly allergic to all scents including shampoos, soaps etc. So many people would walk on eggshells for her. I asked her if she wore a gas mask to the store or something because that seemed like an extremely dangerous place for her...she said no. She was in my church and she asked the religious leader to ask people to not wear fragrances of any kind or she could be hospitalized. He complied and thus everyone in church was banned from all fragrances. I didn't believe her but I still tried to help out. So, one day I was in the store and she was in the personal hygiene section looking for non scented everything. I asked her if it bothered her to be in that section because of all of the fragrances wafting in the air. She said no and that she just tries to by unscented stuff. Later, I hadn't seen her in church for a while so I banked that she wouldn't be there and so I wore a spritz of frag and went to church. She was there so I half heartedly tried to keep my distance. I also secretly hoped she would come up to me to see if anything happened. She actually saw me, came over and gave me a hug. I then just observed and absolutely nothing happened. From that moment on I would wear frags any time I went to church or knew that she would be around and nothing ever even came close to happening. So, I guess I'm kind o a jerk because I didn't believe her and decided to test my theory, but she just loved getting attention and saying that she was severely allergic to fragrances was her way of getting constant attention.

I personally have never met anyone that has had a severe reaction from fragrances. I have a coworker where it is just he and I in our office and he is allergic to about 98% of all allergens. I wear fragrances every day and he has never had a reaction. I think that a lot of people that claim to have severe allergies to fragrances either are hypochondriacs, have been told they are allergic to them and thus never tested to see if they really were, really want attention, or are just uneducated. I have worn fragrances since I was 15. I even taught school for 10 years wearing fragrances every day and never did any of my students have a reaction, and still to this day I have never met anyone that has had a severe allergic reaction to frags. I've never even seen anyone have even a slight allergic reaction to frags. Oh, I mean smelling them, not touching the actual juice, that's another story, I have seen reactions to that, still not severe though.

I'm not saying that it couldn't happen, I'm just saying that I have never seen it in my 20 years of wearing frags in all walks of life...and if you think about it, those people that claim they have severe allergic reactions to fragrances should be wearing a gas mask at all times because it is impossible to distance yourself from all fragrances, you could never leave your house and you could never interact with anyone because they might, after all, have washed their hands with some soap that contained some sort of fragrance.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Spend some time and money in the essential oil/aromatherapy world. You may not have as much luck constructing a layered frag to compete with the commercials, but essential oils can be exquisite, they do have therapeutic effects and I have never seen anyone with an allergic reaction to any of them except chamomile (which is damn expensive anyway).

It's a different experience. I worked as a naturopath for more than 10 years before I moved to Europe, and aromatherapy was part of my studies. I love my frags, but the oils are well worth looking into.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Originally Posted by dogodojo

1. Call ahead and have her leave the area when you are there.
2. Ask her to please take an antihistamine the days you are scheduled to be there (have her see an allergist). It is not fair for her to control everyone else's personal choices (that's why we have non-smoking laws).
3. Make sure she has an epi-pen on hand in case her reaction is severe. Tell her you will always be wearing cologne when you are there. Work with her to find a solution where she can protect herself and you can *be* yourself.

I really hope this is a joke. [edit: Yikes! It's not.]

I love fragrances as much as everyone else here, but there comes a point where you need to take a step back and ask yourself "Do I have a problem? Am I literally ADDICTED?" I dated a woman who was allergic. I stopped wearing fragrances while we were together. Anybody who would choose frags over a woman, or in this case, a job... that person has a problem.

There's nothing wrong with not wearing fragrance. In fact, by giving your nose a break, you actually increase your ability to enjoy scents when you wear them.

Re: Basenoter Worst Nightmare

Not easy situation at all. It's after all her problem but imo rawraw does the right thing as he don't want to make any more harm to her than necessary. In my country there is no such law that would protect the one who suffers allergic reactions, at least I'm not aware of. I believe that common sense and co-operation of the colleagues in most cases work.

I think it would be a good idea and polite not to spray fragrance onto clothes in this case (as rawraw suggests.) How one's skin smells, is IMO everyones own business and can't be limited. It's Ok imo to choose some skin scent type of fragrance.